Page 15 (2/2)

If he’d seen fluttery init now Suddenly, I wished we really were going out with Callie and Lucas I’d sort of hoped she would callon with uess eren’t quite at that point yet Either that or she was too occupied with Lucas to give ht Probably she was too occupied with Lucas I didn’t think either of the with the to spend tiirl he could have a little te-term when he’d be back in with his friend

I had to keep ht place over this all by myself, without help fro with a guy who had hurt soht be very char described Steven at all on whole I was yet to see any evidence he had redeemed himself after his past experiences

His car was pretty clean for an eighteen-year-old’s, although he did sweep one burger wrapper off the front passenger seat before I got in

“The paperwork first,” he said “Then I’d like to take you up the mountain”

Hobart was in the shade of a big mountain it was popular to cliht about going up there “What… what is there to do up there?” I asked, then wished I hadn’t, because the look on his face was of the oh you cute innocent little creature variety There didn’t need to be anything up there but the two of us and a car, right?

“Not much,” said Steven “There’s some tracks up there, I like to run those sometimes”

I looked down atproof that what counted as ‘hot’ for a guy was beyond the ability ofwith you?”

Steven was grinning again as he pulled out of his parking spot “I don’t expect it You can, if you want? But you’re not really dressed for it so maybe we’ll just walk this time”

I thought a few kids still hanging around the school or starting their walk ho in the s of Steven’s car as we passed the next to hi anyone froether The rumours would spread in ti already, and Callie and Lucascouple Much more plausible, too At least the two of them had history

Soe in Steven once he was able to speed up a little out of the neighbourhood of Burgundy College It was a very subtle relaxation “What happened with your job, anyway?”

That was not the question I had been expecting “Nothing, really I ot a bit exhausting to have to do school and then work and then coed aboutall the time”

“Huh” Steven was already pulling into the carpark at the place where I needed to go apply for ht you’d need to be working You and I, we’re not exactly like bloody Lucas where we can afford to just buht into the perfect career”

I felt a little rubbed up the wrong way that he see But there was nothing particularly judge out the connections between us

“Yeah well, there’s a reason I have notoo stressful for me”

“Fair enough” Steven’s car seemed to stop with a sharper jolt than I was used to My heart was going wild, and it had nothing to do with being alone with Steven in his car—well, that was a part of it But mostly, I just couldn’t believe what I was about to do I couldn’t even i this inforh, all she’d done to protect me from terrible for